Awake, for morning in the bowl of night has flung the stone that puts
the stars to flight

And, lo, the hunter of the east has caught the sultan’s turret in a noose of light.

Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable – Christopher Howse: ‘A Pilgrim in Spain’.

Cosas de España/Galiza

Spain’s PM defiantly repeated calls of “no to the war” yesterday. Hours later, Ms Leavitt lied to the media with the claim that Madrid had “agreed to cooperate with the US military”. The Spanish Foreign Minister retorted shortly afterwards that “our position on the use of the bases, on the war in the Middle East, on the bombardment of Iran, has not changed at all.” A number of senior EU officials have backed Madrid against US threats on trade. I imagine this will all blow over quite quickly.

News here of staggering increases in second hand property prices in Spain. Which bodes well for a house in my street which is about to go on the market.

During the hard times after the Civil War – The Years of Hunger – many thousands of poor Galicians emigrated to Cataluña and Pais Vasco, looking for work. In Bilbao, the barrio of Masustegi–Monte Caramelo houses so many of their descendants that it’s known as “Galicia’s 5th province”.

Up in Lugo, a new Indian restaurant had a large notice on its window which mistook the word cocaina for cocina. Or cocaine for cooking/cusine. Caused a lot of laughter but also garnered it a lot a free publicity.

The USA

See my earlier post.

Trump’s dangerous ‘war of whim’. Anyone who claims to know where this conflict will go is bluffing. . . . Missiles and drones are streaking across the Middle East, a vital energy highway is in paralysis and hundreds are confirmed dead. And yet, it remains unclear exactly why Trump decided to launch this war and, therefore, what might bring it to an end. . . .

The Iran War – A sceptical perspective:–

• As predicted, it’s going pear-shaped
• Why US/Israel success is impossible as Israeli and US operations take more hits.
• Trump proposes an unhinged Straits of Hormuz escort scheme. [It makes the Charge of the Light Brigade look like a dandy idea].
• Western media is misinforming the public

Quotes of the Day

• The fog of war starts in Trump’s mind.
• A book review: One of the keys to a happy marriage, according to the author of this book, is laughter. In which case, struggling couples could do a lot worse of an evening than read her book to one another.

The Way of the World/Social Media/English

The engagement economy: A digital-driven model where user interactions—like likes, shares, clicks, and time spent—serve as the primary currency for businesses, especially on social media and online platforms. It emerges from big data and algorithms that personalize content to maximize attention and participation, turning users into both products and promoters. Platforms like Instagram or TikTok engineer feeds with notifications and gamification to foster habitual engagement, often prioritizing profit over user well-being.

Spanish

• Disparate: Nonsense, absurdity, folly, etc
• Prender: To light, turn on, set, etc.
• Resentirse: To suffer, resent, take umbrage, hold a grudge

Did you know?

A major factor behind the collapse of all the empires that existed at the end of the Late Bronze Age – c. 1200 BCE – was a a ‘megadrought’. This is something that lasts between 100 and 300 years and which doesn’t allow the inhabitants any respite, or opportunity to recover. When the drought finally ends, the original inhabitants and their society might no longer exist.

You Have to Laugh

Finally . . .

This defunct bird – This is a dead parrot! – possibly had a larger vocabulary than the president of the USA.

Which reminds me . .

My thanks to those readers who take the trouble to Like my posts.

The Usual Links . . .

You can get my posts by email as soon as they’re published. With the added bonus that they’ll contain the typos I’ll discover later. I believe there’s a box for this at the bottom of each post. If you do this but don’t read the posts, I will delete your subscription. So perhaps don’t bother if you have other reasons for subscribing . . .

I can also be read on Facebook.

For new readers: If you’ve landed here looking for info on Galicia or Pontevedra, try here. If you’re passing through Pontevedra on the Camino, you’ll find a guide to the city there.

If you´re thinking of moving to Spain, this link should be useful to you.